Child labor increases in Panama, despite public policies

[Judi Lynn]

Panamá, domingo 13 de junio de 2010
Child labor increases in Panama, despite public policies

Although the government has invested in public social policies to combat child labor, an estimated 89,767 children continue to be involved in work activities in Panama. This figure represents 10.8 percent of children and adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17, according to a non-governmental organization.

The figures were provided by Angélica La Vitola, Director of Casa Esperanza, which attempts to remove the street children from marginalized areas in the Panamanian capital.

According to La Vitola, the increase of child labor is cause for alarm. She noted that, in 2000, the number of children involved in the labor sector in Panama was 4.5 percentage points lower than at present.

Casa Esperanza recognizes that child labor is closely linked to poverty and problems of school dropouts, poor health, and malnutrition in this country, which signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child - the first international legally-binding instrument of its kind.

http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/06/13/hoy/english/lifestyle_3799.asp